New York: Yesterday, the Brazilian Parliamentary Friends of Tibet was formally launched on 13 June at the National Congress of Brazil by the initiative of Deputy Mr Walter Feldman and with support signature of 215 parliamentarians.  It is an all-party group of deputies and senators which will make an effort to generate real support for the resumption of dialogue between the leadership in Beijing and Dharamsala to guarantee a genuine and meaningful autonomy for the Tibetan people.   

Deputy Feldman said: “This fight does not belong only to Tibetans, it belongs to us, to government and non-governmental organisations, acting on behalf of human rights to contribute to world peace and the culture of peace.

“Every nation has its history and tradition that should be worshiped and remembered. Without this, little by little, people may lose their identity and become a group with no interest, no sense of homeland and without a soul.

“Cultural identity is the dignity of a nation.  Therefore, I am with the people of Tibet in their struggle to maintain its identity, recognition and enforcement of equal rights,” he said.

Mr Feldman further said: “Brazil as a country of great importance in the world cannot stand indifferent to the problem. Our weapon is essential to combat all violence and we must put into practice the Culture of Peace.”

“As a propagator of the Culture of Peace, the Parliamentary Group invites the citizens of the world to establish an individual commitment in favor of human dignity and that peace is established throughout the world. We introduce a new effective method of transformation towards a new awareness for the third millennium.”

The newly formed group also endorsed the Ottawa Declaration, a resolution adopted by the participants of the 6th World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet held in Ottawa from 27 – 29 April 2012 and the Convention where Deputy Walter Feldman attended.

As highlighted in Ottawa, the group called attention to China’s repressive policies in Tibet and the pattern of serious human rights violations—the destruction of the identity of the Tibetan people, as evidenced by the attacks against Buddhism, the Tibetan language and culture.